Coin-controlled mechanism



l G. GIAMBRA COIN CONTROLLED MECHANISM Filed Jan. 16, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet l 923 Inventor Gzamw-w,

Attorney 1,629,211 May 1927' G. GIAMBRA COIN CONTROLLED MECHANI SM Filed Jan.l6, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 67 /6-Q 3 [17727737 /7////////A T Inventor I 6' aamrm Attorney 1927. May G. GIAMBRA COIN CONTROLLED MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 16, 1926 Inventor G La77767-w,

Attorney Patented May 17, 1927.

PATENT OFFICE.

GANDOLFO GIAMBRA, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY.

COIN-CONTROLLED MECHANISM.

Original application filed J'anuary 16, 1926, Serial- No. 81,860. Divided and this application filed September 2, 1926.

The present invention relates to a coin controlled mechanism and the subject matter thereof has been divided from my pending application for improvements in automatic serving devices for restaurants, So rial No. 81.860, filed January 16, 1926.

An important object of the invention is to provide an improved coin control mechanism for releasing the door in a casing in which is mounted a self-serving mechanisu'l for restaurants.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a coin controlled mechanism whereby the same may be adjusted to allow actuation upon the insertion of one or a plurality of coins.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a coin controlled mechan sm wherein the coin or coins may be returned to the person served by an attendant if the person should decide he does not want the food before having manually actuated the mechanism.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a device of this nature which is constructed so that the parts thereof are conveniently assembled in a compact and accessible manner.

Another very important object of the invention is to provide a device of this nature which is exceedingly simple in its construction, easy to manipulate, not likely to readily becomeout of order, thoroughly reliable and efficient in its operation. and otherwise well adapted to the purpose for which it is designed.

The invention consists further in the provision of various details of construction, combinations and arrangements of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described and shown in the accompanying drawings and then defined specifically in the appended claims.

I illustrate my invention with the accompanying drawings which withthe characters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this specification and in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a casing embodying the features of my improved coin control mechanism,

Figure 2 is a sectional end elevation thereof,

Serial No. 133,191.

Fig. 3 is a sectional front elevation thereof,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail elevation of the coin control mechanism in one position,

Fig. 5 is a similar view of the mechanism in another position, a

Fig. 6 is a transverse section taken sub stantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 7 is a similar view showing the parts in a different position corresponding to F ig. 5,

Fig. 8 is a sectional top plan view of the casing,

Fig. 9 is a vertical transverse section through the casing,

Fig. 10 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9 looking upwardly, and

Fig. 11 is a detail perspective view of one of the stops used in the coin control mechanism.

Referring to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that the cabinet includes a hot 75 tom 5, a pair of sides C and 7, a top 8, and a front wall 9. The front wall 9 is provided with an opening 10 preferably rectangular in formation. Partitions 15 and 16 are mounted in the cabinet, one at each side of the opening 10, therefore being spaced inwardly from sides 6 and 7 respectively. A door 41 is mounted to close the opening 10 in the cabinet. This dooris provided with asuitable transparencr A shaft 43 s journaled through the partitions 15 and 16 and the lower end of the door 41. is fixed to the shaft so that by rocking the shaft the door may be swung to an open position. A crank 56 is mounted on the end of the shaft 43 adjacent the partition 16 of the cabinet and has an extension 57, the purpose of which will be brought out hereinafter. A' spring 58 is associated with the crank 56 and is under tension when the door is in 95 aclosed position for partially opening the door when the door is released-in a manner which will appear later.

An- L-shaped bracket plate 59is mounted on the cabinet interiorly thereof and includes the upper horizontal portion A and the lower vertical portion B. A bracket 60 is fixed to the portion A and the shank .61 of a bolt 62 is slidable therethrough, being pressed downwardly by a spring 63. The bolt 62 extends through an opening provided in the top 10 ofthe cabinet and is engageable (see Fig. 2) with a keeper 64 on the upper edge of the door adjacent notch 65. lVhen the bolt 62 is lifted in a manner which will bc'brought out later, the spring 58 which is under tension will partially swing the crank 56 to rotate the shaft 43 to swing the door 41 partially open and then the door will gravitate to full open position and as it reaches said full open position, the spring 58 will again be tensioned to function as a butter. The lower edge of the bolt 62 is beveled so that as the door 41 is swung to a closed position, it will be raised and the spring 63 will then be tensioned to force the bolt into the notch 65 to engage the keeper 64 so as to hold the door 41 against being opened in an unauthorized manner.

A lever is pivoted at 71 on the portion A of the bracket 59 and has one end suitably engaged at 72 with the bolt 62 so that when the other end is depressed, said bolt 62 is lifted to a releasing position. A shaft 73 is journaled'in the bracket 59, at the upper end of the portion B and has fixed thereto the cam element F including the portion 74 engageable over a pin 75 projecting from the adjacent end of the lever 70. A stop bracket 76 is located above the end of the portion 74 for limiting the movement thereof. It will be seen that when the shaft 73 is rotated (see Figs. 3, 4 and 5) in a counterclockwise direction, the portion 74 of the cam F will swing downwardly to depress the pin 75 and rock the lever 70 in a clockwise direction, thereby lifting the bolt 62 to a releasing position.

A fixed coin chute 78 is mounted on the upper portion of the part B of the bracket plate 59. by means of screws 79 or in any other suitable manner. This fixed chute is preferably disposed on an incline and has an entrance 80 which colnn'iunicates with a coin insert slot 81 in the upper right hand corner of the front wall 9 of the. cabinet. A coin chute 82 has an extension 83 disposed alongside of the fixed chute 80 and pivoted on the bracket plate 59 at its upper edge as at 84. A leaf spring 85 is fixed to the ex.- tension 83 of the coin chute 82 and extends through the slot of a lug 86 projecting from the portion B of the bracket plate 59 for normally holding said chute 82 with its upper end in registry with the lower end of the fixed chute 78. A bar 87 is pivoted at its lower end. as at 88, to the lower portion of the chute 82. The lower end of the bar 87 is limited in its swinging movement by a loop 89 provided on the upper end of the chute 82 and through which the upper end of the bar 87 extends. The upper end of the bar 87 terminates into a right angularly disposed extension 90 extending through an opening 91 in the upper end of the chute 82. As I have shown to advantage in Fig. 7, a small leaf spring92 is attached at one end in a channel 93 provided in the bar 87 and holds said bar in abutment with the outer portion of the loop 89. When the bar 87 is swung, as will beexplained later, inwardly towards the chute 82 it causes the extension 90 to be disposed across the interior of the chute 82, unless the proper coin or coins are disposed therein.

The extension 90 also functions as a ledge for a coin which might have been inserted in the chute 7 8 when the chute 82 is out of alinement therewith, and will also prevent surplus coins from clogging up the mechanism, while it is being operated as will appear later. The chute 82 is provided with a plurality of openings along its forward edge as indicated at 94, said openings being spaced from one another, the approximate distance being equal to the diameter of the coins to be used. Normally the chute 82 extends vertically downwardly from the bottom end of the chute 78 and when so disposed the lower edge of said chute 82 registers with a return chute 95 which leads to a receptacle 96 extending through the front wall of the casing.

A chute 96 is located alongside the chute 95 and has a projection 97 acting as a stop for the lower end of the chute 82 when said lower end is swung in registry therewith as is shown in Fig. 5. This chute 96 communicates with a chute 98 which leads to a compartment 99 having a transparent panel 100 so that the money falling therein will be seen by an attendant at the rear of the device. A catch 101 projects laterally from adjacent the lower end of the chute 82, and is engageable by an L-shaped dog 102 pivoted to a bracket 103 projecting rearwardly from the portion B of bracket plate 59 and is spring actuated by leaf spring 104.

It will thus be seen that when coin chute 82 is swung to the position shown in Fig. 5, that is, so that its lower end is in registry with the chute 96, said catch 101 will be engaged by the spring pressed dog 102. A cam member 105 depends from the dog 102 and is engagcable by the extension 57 of the crank 56 as the door swings to an open position for releasing said dog from engagement with the catch so that the spring 85 may return the chute 82 to its normal position shown in Fig. 6.

A pair of vertically spaced bearing brackets 106 are mounted on the front side of portion B of the bracket plate 59 and the plate 107 has upper and lower pintles 108 journaled in said bearing bracket- 106. Lateral extensions 109 are provided on the plate 107 and support a bar 110. A plurality of stop members 111 are threaded through the bar and extend through plate 107. Knobs 112 are provided on the intermediate por-v tion of the stop members 111 between the plate.107 and bar 110 so that by operation .2- of the knobs, the stop member 111 may be extended through their respective openings 94 in the chute 82.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the second stop member 111 from the top is extended to project into the second opening 94 from the top so that it will be necessary to insert two coins to actuate the coin control mechanism. If the top member 111 is projected into its top opening 94, only one coin will be necessary. With this plurality of stop Y which may be projected into its respective opening 94 therefrom, so that a coin in said chute 82 will fallvdown into the return chute 95. A coupling 116 is engaged with the shaft 115 and alsb with a shaft 117 which extends through the rear wall 12 and has an operating knob 118 on the exterior end thereof for actuation by the attendant. F

It will be thus seen that if a coin is dropped into the chute82, before said chute 82 is swung to the -position shown in Fig. 5, said coin or coins may be returned. The cam element F includes the segment 119 which is normally disposed to engage the upper portion of the bar 87 immediately below the loop 89. If no coin or coins are in the chute 82, it will be seen that the rocking of the shaft 73 will cause the extremity of the cam segment 119 to swing the bar 87 in wardly towards the chute 82, after which said extremity of the cam segment will engage under the loop 89 and said loop 89 will merely act as astop as it is in alinelnent with the extremity of the cam 119 and the ,pivot 84.

If the proper coin, or a number of coins, are disposed in the, chute 82 and the shaft 73 is rocked, the extremity of the cam 119 will swing the bar 87 so as to cause the extension 90 to abut the top coin and to thus cause the chute 82 to swing away from the bar 110. Thus, when the chute 82 swings, the extremity of the ,cam 119 will engage the outside of the loop 89 so that the chute 82 will continue to swing outwardly until the lower extremity abuts the stop 97. "When in this position, the stop member 111 which was PI'O'JBCtGd through its respective opening-94 in the chute 82 will be out of said opening 94 so that the coin or coins may drop down through the chute 82, through the chute 96, through the chute 98, into the compartment 99. The rocki n of the shaft 73 as just described, will simu taneoucly cause the segment 74 to release the f into the chute 82 and may be returned by the attendant upon operation ofthe knob 118 as previously indicated.

By looking through the transparency 100, the attendant may ascertain immediately whether or not the proper amount of money has been used in the operation of the mechanism. In the bottom of the compartment 99, there is provided an opening 120 normal- 1y closed by a spring pressed lid 121 particularly illustrated in Fig. 10. This lid is operated by a crank 122 exteriorly and rearwardly disposed in relation to the cabinet. Any suitable receptacle may be placed under the opening 123 which registers with the opening 120 and register with each other so that when it has been ascertained that the correct amount of money has been used in actuating the device, the crank 122 may be operated and the lid 121 openedso that the money may fall through the opening 123 provided in the bottom 5.

If a customer desires to open the doo1141 he drops the necessary-coin or number of coins into the entrance slot 81 from which the coin or coins passes through the chute 78 and then into the chute 82. If the proper coin or number of coins has been delivered to the chute 82, the knob 125 on the exterior end of the shaft 73 may be rotated for causing the swinging of the cam element F thereby simultaneously opening the door through the intermediacy of lever 70, releasing the bolt 62 and swinging the chute 82 from the position shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown in Fig. 5 so that the coin may drop through this chute through the chute 96, thence through the chute 98 to the compartment 99. \Vhen the chute 82 is swung to the position shown in Fig. 5, the catch 101 is engaged by thev dog 102 and is held momentarily -with its outer end in registry with the chute 96. However, as soon as the door open the extension 57 on the crank 56 engages the cam 105 on the dog 102, thereby swinging said dog free of the catch whereby to permit the spring 85 to return the chute 82 to its normal position.

It will now be apparent that I have designed a novel and useful construction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the above description, and while I have in the present instance shown and described thepreferred embodiment thereof which is best suited to give satisfactory and reliable results in practice, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible to modification in various articulars without departing from the splrit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is 1. A coin controlledmechanism including a support. a fixed chute on said support, a movable chute, an extension on the movable chute provided at its upper end alongside of the fixed chute, a bar pivoted adjacent the lower end of the movable chute and extending upwardly and having an extension disposed inwardly of the fixed and movable chutes, a loop on said movable chute for receiving the upper end of the bar, a cam engageable with said bar below the loop, means for rotating the cam, adjustable means for stopping a coin in said movable chute delivered thereto from the fixed chute at a point to be engaged by the extension of the bar. and a pair of fixed chutes with which the lower end of the movable chute is registrable.

2. A coin controlled mechanism including a support, a fixed chute on said support, a movable chute, an extension on the movable chute pivoted at its upper end alongside of the fixed chute, a bar pivoted adjacent the lower end of the movable chute and extending upwardly from and having an extension disposed inwardly to the fixed and movable chutes, a loop on said movable chute for receiving the upper end of the bar, a cam engageable with said bar below the loo means for rotating the cam, adjustab e means for stopping a coin in said movable chute delivered thereto from said fixed chute at a point to be engaged by the extension of the bar, a pair of fixed chutes with which the lower end of the movable chute is registrable, spring means associated with said movable chute for normally holding it in engagement with one of the lower two fixed chutes.

3. A coin controlled mechanism, including a support, a fixed chute on said support, a movable chute, an extension on the mova' ble chute pivoted at its upper end alongside of the fixed chute, a bar pivoted adjacent the lower end of the movable chute and extending from and having an extension disposed inwardly to the fixed and movable chutes, a loop on said movable chute for receiving the upper end of the bar, a cam engageable with said bar below the loop,

means for rotating the cam, adjusta means for stopping a coin in said movable chute, delivered thereto from said fixed chute at a point to be engaged by the extension on the bar, a pair of fixed chutes with which the lower end of the movable chute is registrable, spring means associated with said movable chute for normally holding it in engagement with one of the lower two fixed chutes, said movable chute provided with a plurality of openings through which said stop means are projectible.

4. A coin controlled mechanism, of the. class described, including a fixed chute, a movable chute provided with an extension at its upper end, means for pivoting the upper end of the extension alongside of the fixed chute, a loop formed on one side of the movable chute, said movable chute being provided with a plurality of spaced openings, a bar pivoted at its lower end to the lower end of the movable chute, extending throu h said loop and provided at its upper end with an extension disposed towards the interior of the movable chute, a rotatable cam engaged with the bar immediately under the loop, a pivotally mounted frame located alongside the movable chute and provided with a plurality of adjustable stops extendable into the opening of the movable chute.

5. A coin controlled mechanism of the class described including a fixed chute, a movable chute provided 'with an extension at its upper end, means for pivoting the upper end of the extension alongside of the fixed chute, a loop formed on one side of the movable chute, said movable chute being provided with a plurality of spaced openlngs, a bar pivoted at its lower end to the lower end of the movable ehute extending through said loop and provided at its upper end with an extension disposed towards the interior of the movable chute, a rotatable cam engageable with the bar immediately under the loop, a pivotally mounted frame located, alongside the movable shutc and provided with a plurality of adjustable stops extendible into the opening of the movable chute, means for swinging said frame to an out of the way position, and a pair of fixed chutes at the bottom end of theomovable chute, the movable chute normally being in registry with one of the pair of fixed chutes and movable by the cam into registry with the other of the pair of fixed chutes.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

GANDOLFO GIAMBRA. 

